


Brothers

by inquisitor_tohru



Category: Star Wars: Rebels
Genre: Angst, Character Study, Gen, Hopeful Ending, Introspection, Missing Scene, Past Character Death, Worldbuilding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-12
Updated: 2020-08-12
Packaged: 2021-03-05 20:28:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,034
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25611322
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/inquisitor_tohru/pseuds/inquisitor_tohru
Summary: Rex, Wolffe, and Gregor became nomads.
Relationships: CC-5576-39 | Gregor & CT-7576 | Rex & CC-3636 | Wolffe, CT-21-0408 | Echo & CT-7567 | Rex, CT-7567 | Rex & Ahsoka Tano, Cut Lawquane & CT-7567 | Rex
Kudos: 20
Collections: Clone Wars Saved Exchange 2020





	Brothers

**Author's Note:**

  * For [luinil80](https://archiveofourown.org/users/luinil80/gifts).



Most of the inhabitants of Seelos made their homes in the jagged blue mountain ranges, rather than the planet's sprawling salt plains, to avoid the deadly joopas - colossal greyish green, wormlike creatures whose heads were crowned with clusters of ruby eyes. They had a taste for humanoid meat and, if the locals had the right of it, a peculiar fondness for Lasats. The only positive thing about the joopas was that  _ their _ meat was far more palatable  _ and  _ plentiful than the other morsels likely to be found on Seelos. Gregor's enthusiasm for the hunt was unmatched, as was his aim. He, Rex, and Wolffe ate well.

The three brothers became nomads. Many of the people living at the foot of the mountain had been criminals or runaways, and not soldiers like them. Rex didn't judge or look down on them - he had no right to do so. He supposed he was something of a runaway himself nowadays, along with his brothers, as well as a criminal, depending on who you asked. But for some reason Rex never felt quite at home in their hideouts and campsites, however warm a welcome he received, and he could tell that his brothers felt the same way. Still, they were able to reach a mutually beneficial arrangement in which the outlaws were happy to trade them the parts they needed for their repurposed AT-TE walker in exchange for any joopa meat going spare. It was just that after all that had occurred since the rise of the Empire, it became increasingly difficult for clones to trust or rely upon anyone other than each other. 

Especially for Wolffe.

They'd all suffered. Every single one of their brothers. Rex knew that better than many. Sometimes he'd wake up, bleary eyed, and see snow instead of sand as he gazed upon the dunes. He'd remember digging graves with Ahsoka, on that haunted moon, and the tears came as if it were yesterday. It never got any easier. He'd shared the story with Wolffe once, over a few whiskeys in a pokey little cantina on another backwater planet in the Outer Rim Territories. That'd been before they found Gregor. Rex didn't much fancy telling the tale again and for all Gregor's eccentricities, Rex had to give him credit - he never asked him to. Gregor's memories of his own service were hazy, or so he said. Wolffe never told his story either, and that was fine by Rex.

He thought about going back to that haunted moon to honour the fallen brothers he and Ahsoka buried. He remembered shovelling snow, and the weight of armored corpses being dragged through it. Ahsoka could have used the Force to move them, but she didn't, and at the time Rex had wondered why. Now, he understood. If it had been anyone other than who released Maul from his captivity, he wasn't sure whether he'd have been able to forgive them. Ahsoka couldn't have predicted the extent of his sabotage -  _ no one _ could have predicted that. 

But she did know that clones' lives would be lost...and Rex was used to being seen that way by the Jedi. He was born into this world already a soldier, born into this world to die for the Galactic Republic. Their lives were disposable, for it was said that whenever a clone died, five more would be born in his place.

It still stung when  _ Ahsoka  _ saw them that way. No, that was unfair of him. She'd been scared, terrified even, as she fought for her life against people she'd thought were her friends (who were  _ still  _ her friends), their helmets painted in a copper and white homage. Rex had seen the pain carved into the dark circles beneath her eyes as she stood by him, digging graves for his brothers. She hadn't known exactly what Maul would do when she let him loose, and she hadn't known about the chips.

Wolffe hadn't told him how he survived after disobeying Order 66, or what he'd gone through afterwards, but Rex knew his chip had wound up dislodged when his ocular implant was wired up. It made him wonder what had become of Echo, more machine than man the last time they'd seen each other. He didn't know all the ins and outs of Echo's cybernetics, but Rex could  _ hope.  _ More than once, he'd wondered what happened to Cut Lawquane - whether he'd been compelled to join his brothers in their mission against the Jedi, or whether he resisted the compulsion to stay with Suu and the children.

Rex could only  _ hope. _

Gregor's chip had been fried sometime after he left Abafar, even more degraded than what had been found, and subsequently covered up, in Tup's head. The damage to his brain had ended up something of a blessing in disguise when Order 66 came around. His personality may have differed from that of the elite commando whose personnel file Rex had become familiar with, but Gregor's competence, and especially his cheery disposition, were a breath of cool, fresh air on a hot afternoon in Seelos' vast salt deserts.

A disturbance up above tugged Rex from his reverie, like a giant fishing hook in a joopa. Wearily, he got to his feet and made his way up to see what all the commotion was about. It certainly wasn't a joopa. Rex just hoped that Wolffe and Gregor hadn't had another disagreement with the locals that he'd have to smooth over. He was getting too damn old for this. 

He picked up his pace when he heard shots being fired, recognising the sound of Wolffe's modified blaster rifle. A walk became a jog, became a sprint, but when he felt the arid air on his cheeks, Rex composed himself. Remembered his training. He could disarm his brothers if it proved necessary, but first he needed to determine whether the group approaching - two human males and, oddly enough, one Lasat male - were friends or foes. Given the Lasat's presence, there was always the chance a joopa would rear its ugly head and help them out if need be. Rex hoped it wouldn't come to that. He hoped and hoped and hoped-

_ "...seven-five-six-seven…" _

\- and smiled.


End file.
